Stealth archives: 2016

Artwork at Stealth Vs Rescued, Stealth & The Rescue Rooms

With five rooms of music and bars, the two largest smoking terraces in the city, world-class headline bands and DJs, a finger-licking Caribbean BBQ, 1200 party people, the latest opening hours in town and a number of hidden surprises and rooms, it's no wonder that Stealth Vs Rescued has been voted "Nottingham's Best Clubnight!"

Arthur 'Artwork' Smith is one of the original Croydon crew who has helped shaper the sound of modern dance music.

As one of the guys behind legendary 'Big Apple' Records in Croydon he set up a label under the same name to showcase some of the early productions of some of the record regulars. The first release on the label was Artwork's 'Red EP' which came out in 2002, and has gone on to become a timeless UK Garage classic.

His recording studio above the Big Apple shop became a hub of local music, and as engineer he collaborated with a number of producers. As part of the 'DnD' production outfit, Arthur was responsible for a number of UK Garage remixes, notably Daniel Bedingfield's 'Gotta Get Thru This' which went all the way to #1 in the UK charts and received a Grammy nomination to boot.

The success of 'Gotta Get Thru This' enabled him to continue with his techno-alias 'Grain', and his techno releases were soon being supported by the likes of Richie Hawtin, Jeff Mills & Derrick May. This alias has recently been reborn, remixing some of the leaders in UK House & Techno, such as Midland and Dense & Pika.

Artwork was soon experimenting with Dark Garage & Breaks - releasing 'Sounds Of The Future' under the name 'Menta'; and these sounds soon evolved from UK Garage into the sound known as Dubstep. Local up-and-coming Dubstep producers were bringing their productions into the record shop for feedback - and Big Apple went on to sign and release records from the likes of Skream, Benga, Digital Mystikz & Loefah.

Within a few years Dubstep had become one of the leading genres in UK clubland - with Skream's anthemic 'Midnight Request Line' (2005) and Benga & Coki's 'Night' (2007) becoming to of the genres biggest crossover hits. Skream & Benga then approached Artwork about collaborating on a live Dubstep supergroup, and this idea became a reality via the support of The Arts Council, who helped fund their live show. The outcome was 'Magnetic Man' - who went on to headline festivals all over the world and release a Top 10 single and a Top 5 album.

Since Magnetic Man, Artwork has gone on to produce some of the biggest House/Techno dubplates in recent times - including his monster track 'Let Go Of Acid', which has been getting regular support from the likes of Seth Troxler, Jackmaster, Skream & Heidi - which is due to come out on Numbers in the coming months. Additionally he records a regular show for Rinse FM and has been playing some of the most fun DJ sets we have experienced in recent years.

We look forward to welcoming back Artwork to Stealth on Saturday 28th May.

Plus Stealth Residents playing the best in House, Disco, Techno & Bass.